Trump campaign Web site contradicts new claim that Mexico will not directly pay for the wall

Donald Trump today claimed that he never said that Mexico would literally pay for the border wall.

But he did. Repeatedly. And it’s still up on the Trump campaign Web site.

In a document titled “Pay for the Wall,” the Trump campaign site spells out exactly how Mexico will directly pay for the wall:

“It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion.”

Yet, Trump today denied ever having said that Mexico would literally pay for the wall:

“When during the campaign, I would say ‘Mexico is going to pay for it,’ obviously, I never said this, and I never meant they’re gonna write out a check, I said they’re going to pay for it. They are.”

Trump also said this last night:

Trump on Mexico paying for the wall, continued: “And when I said Mexico will pay for the wall, in front of thousands and thousands of people, obviously they’re not going to write a check. They are paying for the wall indirectly.” (He brought this up unprompted, wasn’t asked.)

Trump is now trying to claim that Mexico will “indirectly” pay for the wall via the renegotiated NAFTA agreement. But none of the alleged savings from the new-NAFTA go to the federal government, so it’s not clear how Trump now claims these alleged funds will be accessed to pay for the wall.

Trump’s own campaign Web site makes clear that Trump repeatedly said Mexico will actually pay for the wall, directly. He’s now gone back on that promise.

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the Executive Editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown; and has worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and as a stringer for the Economist. He is a frequent TV pundit, having appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline, AM Joy & Reliable Sources, among others. John lives in Washington, DC. John's article archive.